Identity is one of the crown jewelries in the kingdom of ‘contestedconcepts’. Few concepts are so integral to social assumptions,beliefs and claims of belonging while simultaneously escaping a cleardefinition or even a minimal consensus. The idea of identity isconceived to provide some unity and recognition while it also existsby separation and differentiation. From personal to group andcollective identities, multiple layers of identifications juxtaposeconflict or exclude. Few concepts were used as much as identity forcontradictory purposes. From the fragile individual identities asself-solidifying frameworks, to layered in-group identifications infamilies, orders, organizations, religions, ethnic groups, regions,nation-states, supra-national entities or any other social entities,the idea of identity always shows up in the core of debates and makeseverything either too dangerously simple or too complicated.Constructivist and de-constructivist strategies have led to the sameresult: the eternal return of the topic. Some say we should drop theconcept, some say we should keep it and refine it, some say we shouldlook at it in a dynamic fashion while some say it’s the reason forresistance to change. In the meantime, identities areprogrammatically asserted and promoted to generate cohesion anddemand recognition while the process of identification excludes andcreates boundaries and alterity making practices.

If identities are socially constructed and not genuine formations,they still hold some responsibility for inclusion/exclusion –self/other nexuses. Looking at identities in a research orientedmanner provides explanatory tools for a wide variety of events andsocial dynamics. Identities reflect the complex nature of humansocieties and generate reasonable comprehension for processes thatcannot be explained by tracing pure rational driven pursuit ofinterests. The feelings of attachment, belonging, recognition, theprocesses of values’ formation and norms integration, the logics ofappropriateness generated in social organizations, are all factorsrelying on a certain type of identity or identification. Multipleidentifications overlap, interact, include or exclude, conflict orenhance cooperation. Identities create boundaries and borders; definethe in-group and the out-group, the similar and the excluded, thefriend and the threatening, the insider and the ‘other’. Even more,identities generate legitimating circumstances for social andpolitical action; assert the power of naming and rules of belongingwhile setting the stage for the perception of the other. The othercan be internal, as difference and incomplete coherence with thein-group, or external as acknowledged difference or even in cases ofradical alterity as perceived threat. The formation of identities canlead to multicultural integration of diversity, tolerance,recognition and pluralism while simultaneously exclude and buildwalls.

The 8th Euroacademia International Conference 'Identities andIdentifications: Politicized Uses of Collective Identities' aims toscrutinize the state of the art in collective identities research, tobring once more into debate the processes of identity making,identity building in both constructivist or de-constructivistdimensions. The conference will include a wide variety ofcontributions on identity making practices while fostering a criticalassessment of intended or unintended consequences that lead to thepoliticization of identities. It is the aim of the Euroacademiaconference to open the floor to dynamic multi-dimensional andinter-disciplinary understandings of identities in their historicformation or in the way they shape the present and future oforganizations or communities. The conference however seeks also tointegrate and address the misunderstandings or misconceptionsimplicit to identity formation practices. A focal place will be givento methodological refinement and innovation in the research ofidentities in a broad spectrum of disciplines.

Euroacademia aims to bring together a wide network of intellectuals,academics, researchers, practitioners and activists that are willingto share and open to debate their research on identity relatedtopics. Disciplinary, trans and inter-disciplinary approaches,methodological assessments, innovations and recommendations, singlecase studies or cross-sectional analyses, reflective essays,experience sharing or works addressing new puzzles are all welcomed.

If interested in participating, please read the complete eventdetails on the conference website and apply on-line. Alternativelyyou can send a maximum 300 words abstract together with the detailsof your affiliation until 24th of May 2019 by e-mail at:application@euroacademia.org